Poet Roger McGough has pulled out of a gala concert in honour of US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice amid protests by anti-war campaigners.

McGough, who rose to prominence as one-third of the 1960s Liverpool Poets alongside Adrian Henri and Brian Patten, was due to compere the performance by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic orchestra later this month.

Anti-war campaigners have strongly criticised Ms Rice's visit to the city and are planning to protest outside the concert.

Controversy surrounding the visit led to McGough - a former member of 1960s pop band The Scaffold, whose most memorable hit was Lily the Pink - announcing he would no longer be performing.

McGough said he did not want to take sides over the issue.

A spokesman for the poet said: "What started out as a celebration of the city's ocean-crossing cultural life has morphed inevitably into a vigorous single-issue debate over the rights and wrongs of the Iraq war.

"As an artist, Roger McGough has no appetite for crossing the scheduled picket line or being linked with a particular agenda, even less to an event which divides rather than unites public enthusiasm locally. With regret therefore, he is withdrawing from involvement in the evening concert," he said.

Ms Rice is due to visit Liverpool during a state visit to the UK later this month.